"I do not want my children to live under the circumstances I lived, but I think that if I became an auror I could provide a comfortable life for both me and my parents. At least more comfortable the one we currently have."

Galatea Merrythought was a halfblood witch born to a pair of fifteen-year-olds who met on the streets. While neither of them was prepared to become a parent, they struggled to make ends meet and tried to be the best parents they could for their daughter.

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Merrythought's birth was certainly neither planned nor expected by her parents, and have the pair been more heartless, they might have just abandoned the newborn instead of struggle of being good parents.

Merry never remembered her childhood with much fondness. Her parents were not prepared to have a baby and they certainly did not make enough money to feed all of them. Sometimes, they would go to bed hungry, just so their baby could have something to eat. Their only support was Mr. Galatea's father, who with her rather small salary tried to help the young couple.

By the time Merry received her Hogwarts letter, the Galateas did not struggle as much as in the beginning, though they were certainly far from wealthy. Hogwarts was not something they could completely afford, but her grandmother had gathered an amount of money over the years so they decided to give Merry the chance of some education, even if it was only for her first year at Hogwarts.

Merry arrived at Hogwarts pretty much illiterate, which made it difficult for her to keep up with her classes at first. However, she was an ambitious child and she was not planning to waste such a big opportunity. With the help of some charitable older students, Merry was soon able to read and write and while she was hardly at the top of her classes, her determination helped her do better than most of the other lower class students. She also discovers that she has something of a knack for the dark arts.

In her third year, Merry manages to make the Slytherin Quidditch team as one of its beaters. At first, she has to borrow one of the school's broomsticks which makes her feel rather embarassed. Her father manages to win an amount of money in cards, though and he buys her a new broomstick thinking that maybe she could have a Quidditch career after her graduation.

After the Hogwarts Hussies' scandal, all girls lose their Quidditch positions, Merry included. She does not take it lightly, thinking it very unfair for Professor Phineas Black to enforce such a ban when most of the female players are hardly hussies. Losing her position makes her focus on her studies even more than previously, particularly those involving the dark arts. It is unlikely that she will be able to join a professional team after her graduation with so little experience, but her skill in the dark arts could maybe open different doors for her.

It is then when Merry considers the possibility of becoming on auror. It is a job that pays well and she is hardly a lady from a good, respectable family for anyone to care if she held a dangerous occupation.

During her sixth year is when Merry has her first romantic contact with a boy, in the face of a yearmate and housemate, Brutus Kettleburn. However, Merry does not allow herself to have any feelings for the boy, thinking that if she allowed herself to get too close to him it might result with her having a similar fate to that of her parents.

During Hogwarts' Career Day, Merry seeks information about becoming an auror and she is pleasantly surprised that there is currently one female auror, a Miss Miriam Webster. She corresponds with the woman, seeking her advice. While the auror warns her about the difficulties of the occupations, Merry does not have any second thoughts.

In her final year, girls are allowed back to Quidditch again and while she does not reclaim her previous position, Merry rejoins the team now as a keeper. However, this new change does not make her reconsider her career aspirations.

On October 31st, 1884, it was discovered that legally, Merry's name is Galatea Gertrude Merrythought, instead of Merrythought Gertrude Galatea.[1] It is all due to a birth certificate mixup, caused mostly due to her father's illiteracy. Thankfully, it doesn't affect Merry's auror training, but she still has to take up a new name, after eighteen years of being known by a different name.

Merry arrived at Hogwarts looking rather malnourished, though she'll leave it with a rather healthy appearance. She stands at 5'6and is thin, with some feminine curves, though her body is hardly as desirable as that of other girls her age. She has a fair amount of muscle after her years of playing Quidditch. Her long, black hair cannot really hold a curl and Merry prefers to keep it in rather messy buns or braids. She has dark green eyes, which she has inherited from her paternal grandmother.

Merry is not truly a bad person, though her difficult childhood has filled her with a lot of anger. She is a true Slytherin, having both ambition and determination. She grew up thinking that she did not deserve the life she was born to, that she'd much rather not be born at all if it was for her to live under such horrible circumstances for the rest of her life. While she deeply loved both of her parents, she couldn't help but hold them responsible for all the hardships the family had gone through, often regarding them as fools for making the mistakes they did.

It is because of them that she is rather reluctant about love. While she never felt shy around boys, she would never allow herself to view them in a romantic way, not wanting to end up with a fate similar to that of her mother. If it was for her to marry, then it would be a marriage of necessity, rather than love. Before she became determined to become an auror, Merry wished that she might marry up one day, even if it was to the lower end of the middle class, just so she could take care of her parents. Despite her desire to become an auror, though, Merry would likely not turn down a marriage proposal to a man that she knew that would give her a better economic and social standing.

While the two come from different enough backgrounds that one would wonder why they are friendly, Merry considers Rosie to be one of her best friends, even if she suspects that the two will not continue to be in touch after their graduation.

The older auror is like a role-model to Merry. After Faustus Prewett suggested she contacted with her during the 1883 Hogwarts Careers Day[3], the two have been corresponding [4] and meeting on occasions.